COMMISSIONED PYROGRAPHY: Fireman's Prayer

I love wood. But I also like playing with fire. I even used to collect lighters when I was kid. Anyway, I’ve been doing pyrography for a few years now.. I first started using a soldering iron . Then it got boring and tedious, especially if you want to burn a large piece of wood. It was also annoying when I had to change the hot tip to incorporate different strokes.

So I develop a way of using a blow torch to drawing. I did this by adjusting the flame and studying the different shades I get from the distance of the flame from the wood. The style that I use is similar to Ink Wash Painting. But in my practice, I also would bandsaw small pieces of hardwood to the shapes that I need. I then use these shapes to cover the part I don’t want to get burnt. To make a straight line, I get two pieces of wood, give a 1/8 distance as I hold it on the wooden canvas, and then , I would slowly burn the 1/8 space while I drag the two pieces of wood. I normally use birch plywood which I had to source from the US because it not available in the Philippines.

Anyway, this was commissioned by a volunteer fireman. He gave me a photo of a fireman kneeling then gave me the Fireman’s Prayer, which you can easily search online if you guys want to read it.

The frame is mahogany and the piece is about 3’ x 5’. I had to use the soldering iron to burn the letter one by one. Just imagine that one letter took 3mins to align and burn. No room for error.

Nico, A lot of surprises from you. The twigs sculpture, the textured furniture that blends to what the body needs, the original designs of getting the pieces glued together to form one… and now… burning the wood creating a lasting work of art.

I like most the highlights of the edges against the background and also the letters that are really same thickness (engineers’ say for the width of the lines) throughout and intensity of the colors. The owner will really treasure this and I think he is very special from your heart…. a fireman.